Re: The Questions Thread
shinningman said:
so i could put the save files on a flash drive or something? and move them to my new pc?
explain :nod:
Exactly. I generally copy my ATMA folder (my stashes are in a subfolder of this folder), my save folder, and then delete all the unnecessary stuff in my save and stash folders. Basically, you keep the .d2s files (these are your actual characters), your .key folders (these hold hotkey configurations, but if you lose them, no big deal), and, for ATMA, all your .d2x files (these are the stashes). For characters, the .map, .ma0, .ma1, etc files store the map layout (more precisely, the areas of the map that you've explored), and are the biggest of the files. This means that if you're wanting to back the stuff up in as small a space as possible, it's a good idea to delete these. All the .org files are ATMA backups, so you can delete these too. I copy everything to a clone of my Diablo II folder on my desktop.
When I'm done, I'm left with a folder, inside of which is a 'save' folder and an 'ATMA' folder, and the latter contains my 'stashes' folder. The ATMA folder has the ATMA program files, the stash folder has all my .d2x files, and the save folder has only .d2s and .key files. I've also got a 'patches' folder with various D2 patches, in case I feel like installing other versions, and my 'runewords' folder with RWM/RRM files in it. I just zip everything up, and copy it to a safe place (several safe places, actually). In the event I move to another computer, have to reformat, or whatever, I just reinstall the game, then unzip the contents of my D2Backup.zip file to wherever I installed D2. I then patch up to the version I want, and I'm set.
After running the game, I need to make a couple of little tweaks, like setting the resolution and volume, but that takes about two seconds. All my characters and items, however, are restored without any problem.
On a semi-related note, I'm so lazy that even the file copying and zipping is a chore, so I'm contemplating writing a program to automate it. This way, if I ever find any game-breaking item(s), I can immediately save, then run the program to back everything up to a flash drive.
Alecz said:
Actually, since the ladder reset, I see no point in playing online so I started playing Single player. I feel a bit lonely... I might have to see how this SP community works to play together, last time I read the rules... uhh very complicated with the drops and everything...
The drop rules aren't complicated. Generally, the host gets dibs for questing and such, but each host is free to set the rules, as it's their game you're playing in. For Baal runs and the like, a common practice is for the host to get the drops from everything up to Baal (or possibly his minions- it depends on the host), and the Baal (and possibly minion) drops rotate. It's pretty simple, but it's totally different from what you see on public b.net games where everyone scrambles to grab any green and gold items that drop.
If you do decide to stick around, check out the
MP sub-forum, and pick the appropriate MP thread (depending on softcore/hardcore/mod status).
) 
